God Save the Queen
by ilovetvalot
Summary: Big changes are headed for the BAU. And she has a name. Jennifer Jareau. TWOSHOT. First story in a three story arc.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is the first of a three story arc that I'm picturing in my mind. The next story should be called, "Finding the Fairytale". It is in process. This installment will be two chapters and are our interpretation of the changes headed for the BAU. Hope you like it. Please let us know (even though I STILL can't respond to reviews - please just know that I love all of ya'll!)**

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**God Save the Queen**

**Chapter One**

_May she defend our laws and long give us pause..._

Her eyes glinting as she stared at the glass door that led to the BAU bullpen, Jennifer Jareau squared her shoulders as she reached for the handle. Was it only just a few short years ago that she had fired the bullet that had shattered far more than just a pane of tempered glass? Talk about a shot that was heard around the world.

But those days were long gone, and what was in the past was best left there. The future was far different than she had ever imagined it would be back then, and it was apparently time to take those first steps into it.

Walking purposefully into the semi-filled bullpen, her eyes immediately flew to the landing, well aware of the small group that was gathered in the conference room. They might not know that she was coming, but that didn't faze her in the least. As far as she was concerned, the element of surprise was definitely on her side.

Well, she thought to herself as she amended her earlier thought, at least one of them was aware of her imminent arrival. But the less she thought about him right now, the better. If she allowed her thoughts to wander, then her focus would be split. And that would not do at all…not at all. Her team was trained to spot weakness, and she'd be damned if they found her soft spot within the first sixty seconds.

Her final step led her to the half-open conference room door, and she paused for a second as she heard the sound of loud voices coming from inside.

"Honestly, he said 9:30, didn't he? I'm not delusional," Penelope Garcia huffed as she threw herself into one of the chairs surrounding the scarred round table, glancing once again down at her Hello Kitty watch. "At least not about this..."

"Nope," Morgan agreed, "I heard him, too," he yawned, stretching his arms above his head as he worked out the kinks in his muscles. "And let me tell you, four hours of sleep didn't even take the edge of this exhaustion."

"I'm sure there's an excellent explanation," Reid shrugged, chipper as usual as he leafed through a file in front of him.

"Like another whack job terrorized middle America," Ashley grumbled under her breath, her disillusion regarding their previous case evident in her voice.

"You know," Rossi offered reasonably, taking a sip of his coffee as he glanced down at his watch, "It might actually be good news for a change."

"At 6:30 in the morning," Pen scoffed, rolling her eyes at the older man as she reached for her purple and green mug. "I sincerely doubt it. Do you know he didn't even call himself this time? He had one of the flunkies from downstairs do it."

"Me, too," Morgan nodded.

"Me, three," Ashley agreed, her brows drawing together as she watched the blonde technical genius bounce in her chair.

"I had a voice mail, but it wasn't Hotch," Spencer offered, then turned toward his older teammate. "Rossi?"

"I'm sure all will be explained in time," he replied, glancing over his shoulder at the partially open door, a small grin playing around his lips.

"All I know is all this drama is seriously making the gaggle of goons from Google's offer look like it might be a sweet deal," Penelope muttered, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back in her chair, staring defiantly ahead as she refused to meet her co-worker's startled gazes.

"What?" Morgan balked, his feet hitting the ground with a loud thud as his chair popped in the upright position and his hands slammed against the wooden table.

"They've been trying to coax me away for over a year," Penelope said blandly as she shrugged. "And honestly, it's looking like..."

"...like you're going to call them back and tell them thanks, but no thanks," a familiar strident voice ordered from the doorway. "Because if I'm coming back, there's no way in hell I'm doing it with a new team," Jennifer Jareau announced as she stepped fully into the familiar conference room.

"JJ," Penelope breathed, her eyes round with sudden shock as she stared at the illusion that was standing before her.

"Coming back?" Reid parroted, his Adam's apple bobbing in excitement, his shoulders straightening.

Stepping inside the room, JJ closed the door firmly behind her, facing the assembled group.

"Yes," she said with a solid nod as she met each of their gazes. "I'm coming back."

"Oh, thank God," Penelope squealed, darting out of her chair to lunge at her friend, throwing her arms around JJ's thin shoulders. "No more gruesome case files...no more briefings...no more..."

Returning her best friend's hug, JJ smiled as she stopped the rant that was certain to continue. "Not quite, Pen. I'm not quite here in the same capacity I once was," she offered, darting a look in Dave's direction.

"As Hotch told us yesterday, the BAU is about to undergo an overhaul," Rossi began as he met JJ's knowing gaze.

"An overhaul?" Morgan echoed suspiciously. "Wait a sec," Morgan growled, looking around the room. "Where the hell is Hotch? Don't fucking tell me that Strauss finally found the final nail she needed for his coffin."

"Hotch is fine, Morgan," Dave replied with a shake of his head, holding up one hand. "He just wasn't invited to this particular meeting."

"Why?" Ashley asked uncomfortably, looking from worried face to worried face, the thoughts of further division in her new unit unsettling. "He's still our Unit Chief, isn't he?"

Exchanging a look with JJ, Dave nodded slowly. "He is. But, in case it's missed your attention...all of your attentions...our esteemed leader is facing a serious case of burnout. He needs help."

"Is that where you come in, Peaches?" Garcia asked hopefully, giving JJ an expectant look.

Clearing her throat as she propped her hand on her hip, JJ nodded. "In a manner of speaking."

"We need to rip of the band-aid and let the chips fall as they may," Dave murmured to JJ. Seeing her slight nod, Rossi announced baldly, "Strauss is out."

"Out?" Morgan said slowly, narrowing his eyes again as he comprehended those simple words. "As in..."

"As in officially retired from the Bureau. Jennifer has agreed to come back...in the role of Section Chief. Meet your new boss, ladies and gentleman," Rossi said, jerking his head toward a quiet JJ.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N - This is the end of this story, my friends. So, do you guys want a sequel where JJ realizes that the fairytale isn't exactly what she thought it would be?**_

**God Save The Queen**

**Chapter Two**

"I don't understand," Reid said hesitantly, glancing worriedly around the table. "Shouldn't that position have been offered to Hotch? No offense, JJ," he said quickly.

"None taken," JJ smiled with a shrug of her shoulders. "I said the same thing."

"The powers that be aren't willing to consider Aaron given his history in the past year. With Haley's death, his status as a single parent, the changes within our team...his name just wasn't up for contention. You don't get to Hotch's position without making a few enemies. JJ, however, has always been somewhat of an expert when it comes to dealing with the Bureaucracy. Her time at the State Department only served to solidify her reputation. She's familiar with the Unit and how it functions. She was the ideal fit."

"...but Hotch doesn't know yet," Morgan said hesitantly, looking from Rossi to JJ.

"This meeting was called to be part announcement, part intervention, Derek," JJ offered quietly, well aware of the concerns being expressed. For the past week, Dave had been explaining the latest inner workings of the FBI to her, and she had been well educated in the pitfalls that were surrounding them. "Look, he wasn't joking yesterday when he said there were severe budget cuts on the horizon. As it stands, Red Cell has stood down," she stated, referring to Sam Cooper's team. "It's been dissolved and those agents have been reassigned. We have to prove this Unit can be useful and profitable to the Bureau or we'll meet the same fate. Everyone is expendable."

"Coop is gone," Pen gasped, her eyes widening as her hand flew to her lips.

"Not gone," JJ denied quickly, "Reassigned. But the goal is to keep our team together. So, all that stuff that Hotch told you yesterday...he's right, you will be contacted. I'm asking you to say no. This team has a proven success rate. That's why we're still around. But, if we take one element away from the combination..."

"We sink like a rock in the pond," Morgan finished with a nod.

"Derek, I know New York wants you...and it's a huge opportunity..."

"I'm in, Jayje," Morgan said softly, his eyes darkening with sincerity. "This is my family."

JJ nodded once as she accepted that statement, her hopes that her team would remain banded together becoming stronger with each passing moment. "Pen? I know it's been a hell of a year and that you're tired of the psychos, but nobody does what you do better than you."

"If you're here, I'm here, JJ," Penelope offered softly, her eyes gleaming with tears as she dug in her oversized purse for a hankie.

"Reid?"

"Huh?" Reid grunted, still in shock.

"I know the Behavioral Unit at the CIA wants you," JJ informed him quietly.

"They wear suits," Reid stated plainly as he wrinkled his nose. "And they don't have their own jet." He shrugged as he flipped his pencil in her fingers. "I'm staying."

Turning her gaze to the newest member of the team, JJ said, "Ashley, I know you walked into this team at a turbulent time."

"Yes, ma'am," Ashley said obediently.

Nostrils flaring, JJ looked down at Morgan as he began snickering. "Did the newbie just "ma'am" me?"

"Uh huh," he chuckled, trying not to outright laugh.

"Was that wrong?" Ashley whispered to Rossi, watching as JJ's lips pressed together in a grim line.

Covering his mouth quickly with his hand lest his own grin add fuel to fire, Dave shook his head.

Drawing back her shoulders, JJ turned her gaze back to Ashley and continued, "What I can tell you is that you're not going to find a better group of individuals to work with inside this building, Agent Seaver. There's a place for you on this team should you decide to stay."

"Thank you, ma-...I mean, Agent Jareau," Ashley stated quickly.

"Rossi and I will fill Hotch in when he comes in this morning. The plan is for us to take some of the pressure off him. I'll take some of the bureaucratic load and you guys will watch out for him in the field. Together, we're going to get over the hump. We've got six months to prove that we're a well oiled machine, guys."

Seeing the chorus of nods circulating the room, JJ sighed. "Okay, now, a few new rules..."

"Rules?" Morgan yelped.

"She's the new head honcho, stud," Penelope whispered loudly, elbowing him in the ribs.

"But...but...she's JJ," Morgan complained, pointing an accusing finger at the new Section Chief.

"Oh, relax," JJ snorted, rolling her eyes as she propped her hand on the back of Dave's chair. "I just wanna clarify a couple of items. First, I want it clear that the first one of you fools that "ma'ams" me again will lose an appendage of my choosing. And I fully intend to beat you to death with it. Second, I am not your personal Dear Abby. I am not running interference between you. Fight it out like men. Or women, as the case warrants," she said with a nod to Ashley. "Got it?"

"Got it," the group confirmed unanimously.

"Good," JJ said with an approving nod as she reached up to unbutton the top two buttons of her silk blouse. "Now, if you'll all excuse me, I have a meeting with the Director in twenty minutes to get you all funded for the next half year."

"And that requires a striptease?" Morgan teased as JJ adjusted her skirt.

"Jason Gideon might not have taught me much, but the words "use it 'til you can't use it anymore" spring to mind right now. As it is, I'm gonna lose two buttons and have to bend over at least once during this little tete a tete," JJ muttered. "Unless any of you would be willing to fly coach for the next six months?"

"Strut your stuff then, sister," Morgan chortled as JJ opened the door.

"That's kinda what I thought," JJ grumbled, glaring at him. "Just know that every one of you owe me," she said pointing around the room. "And, believe me, I will collect," she threatened closing the door with an audible snap.

Whistling low in his throat, Dave narrowed his eyes on the door as the sound of her heels echoed sharply in the hallway.

"I don't even know what to say," Reid murmured, blinking in shock as he stared in amazement.

"God Save the Queen," Rossi chuckled finally, his gaze lingering on JJ's long legs though the conference room window as she ascended the stairs.

"And pray she doesn't emasculate the King," Morgan added with a wide smile, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms behind his head.

One thing was certain...the fairytale was about to get real interesting.

_**Finis**_


End file.
